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Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye was one of the great Motown soul singers, with a remarkable vocal range. His original arrangement showed strong jazz influences, and included sexual, religious and socially conscious themes.

Marvin Pentz Gay Junior was born in Washington D.C. in 1939, son of a minister in the Apostolic Church. He left high school to join the US Air Force, but was discharged in 1957 for discipline problems. In 1957 he joined the Marquees, a doo-wop group that recorded for Chess with direction from Bo Diddley. In 1958 singer and producer Harvey Fuqua used the group to reform the Moonglows. Moving to Detroit with Fuqua in 1960, Marvin Gaye became a session drummer and singer for Motown Records. At Motown he co-wrote "Dancing In The Street", a hit for Martha & The Vandellas, and played drums on several of Stevie Wonder's early recordings.

In 1962, with an "e" added to his surname, Marvin Gaye released his first R&B hit single "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", followed by a series of dance songs where he featured as a smooth soul singer.

In 1965, he changed to a more sophisticated style with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" followed by the #1 R&B hits "I'll Be Doggone" and "Ain't That Peculiar". In the later 1960s he sang romantic duets with Mary Wells, Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell, as well as issuing solo hits such as "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" (orginally released by Gladys Knight and The Pips) and "Too Busy Thinking 'Bout My Baby".

In the early 1970s he issued several songs with socially conscious themes: "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me" and "Inner City Blues", all included on his masterpiece album "What's Going On". Although regularly using cocaine, and increasingly withdrawn from the world, he issued more successful recordings in the 1970s including the "Diane & Marvin Project", an album of duets with Diana Ross, the hit albums "Let's Get It On" and "I Want You", and the funk / disco single "Got To Give It Up".

By the end of the 1970s the pressure of tax problems combined with his cocaine habit were seriously interfering with the quality of his work, although he issued another classic of his style with "Sexual Healing" in 1982. In 1984, during a violent argument, has father shot Marvin Gaye dead.

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